Chapter 56
Chapter 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Her Arrival (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Strange? Maybe it was just my imagination.”
Riya glanced around before taking a sip of the tea Mone had brought her.
For me, who had been startled for a moment, that allowed me to finally let out a sigh of relief.
‘Whoa, that was scary. Just a hunch?’
[……I was startled too. That girl’s a total vixen.]
‘It’s not like she really noticed, right?’
[Anyone not wearing the ring can’t hear me, so of course not. For a second there, I thought I made the ring glow.]
Gransesia only made the ring sparkle when she wanted to speak first. Otherwise, she mostly just spoke quietly like now.
“By the way, Clay, who was that person just now? It seemed quite noisy…….”
“Ah, it’s nothing. It’ll be over soon anyway, so no need to worry about it.”
“Yes.”
Riya sipping her tea calmly felt oddly fascinating.
The empire’s princess drinking tea in our mansion.
Even Dorian had initially thought she was just some noble lady and only freaked out later after hearing from Mone.
‘Come to think of it, my position is pretty unique too.’
The casual speech that felt awkward at first was now quite familiar.
Daring to speak informally to the empire’s princess—anyone else seeing it would be shocked beyond belief.
“Then, Clay, would it be alright if I stay in the mansion for a while?”
“There are plenty of spare rooms, so it’s fine.”
Since I owed Riya so much for her help while staying in the empire, I planned to grant pretty much any request from her.
It might have been for the empire’s sake from her perspective, but to me, it was nothing but gratitude.
If not for her, I wouldn’t have handled the first disaster so easily.
“Though it’s not exactly in exchange for staying here, feel free to ask if there’s anything you need. I’ll help.”
“Got it.”
I could now read Riya’s expressions fairly well from seeing her face so much.
‘Hmm, she seems sincere about that.’
She even looked quite pleased. She always smiled brightly, but it rarely reached her eyes like this.
With the Riya issue resolved, I turned my thoughts back to the Nior matter.
‘Wonder if there’ll be a response in about two days?’
By then, word should reach Count Bellun’s ears too.
He was one of the first to abandon our family, so I was eager to meet him face-to-face as soon as possible.
‘I wonder what reaction Count Bellun will have to my proposal.’
With that thought, I decided to wait patiently.
And exactly two days later.
A letter arrived at the Banheart family mansion.
“A letter from the Bellun Count family!”
“Oh? Let me see it.”
It seemed he thought it unbecoming to come in person.
‘Pretty much what I expected.’
The letter was long, but it boiled down to something very simple.
「My son messed up a bit, but he’s probably reflected enough by now, so send him back.」
After reading it, I regretted wasting time on it.
Count Bellun apparently still saw me as the old Clay Banheart.
“Hasn’t he heard the rumors, with the empire’s princess even arriving here?”
If he’d heard about the Founding Festival, even if he looked down on me, he wouldn’t act like this.
Though it was an honorary title, having received an Asktalin countship meant I was under the empire’s protection now.
And touching me was tantamount to touching an imperial noble.
‘It’s not something he can just ignore.’
I stood up with a grin.
* * *
“The Banheart brat is here?”
“Yes. It seems he was quite shocked by Your Excellency’s letter.”
Count Bellun smiled smugly.
He’d been shocked when he first heard about his son. What Nior had done wasn’t something to take lightly.
‘But he’s still just a brat.’
After some deliberation, Count Bellun decided to go on the offensive.
Yielding here would be as good as admitting guilt.
If he brazenly claimed it was all a misunderstanding, the other side would be the one thrown off.
‘War hero? What does that matter?’
Even if hailed as a hero, that was personal fame—it didn’t translate directly to family power.
He might leverage it for revival later, but the Banheart family was still as weak as ever.
Even if they were in the wrong, they wouldn’t dare act rashly.
“Did Nior come with him?”
“Yes, it seems so. Shall I guide them to the drawing room?”
Count Bellun nodded slowly.
He was already plotting how to sweet-talk Clay.
‘Around 1,000 gold coins should do it.’
1,000 gold wasn’t cheap, but it was a bargain for a noble’s ransom.
Even that felt like too much to Count Bellun.
‘The mithril mine, was it? If Nior was going to stir trouble, he should’ve done it right.’
Thinking that far, Count Bellun stroked his chin.
‘No. It’s not too late.’
He could even use this incident to accuse Clay of kidnapping and blackmailing his son, sparking a territorial war.
‘The Banhearts have no proper knights or soldiers, so they’ll refuse. Use that as an excuse to take the mithril mine.’
It was a brilliant plan no matter how he looked at it.
Nior’s actions had been foolish, but they’d enabled this bigger picture.
“I should praise Nior later.”
Muttering that, Count Bellun rose and headed to the drawing room. Imagining Clay fidgeting in anticipation brought a smile to his face.
“It’s my first time seeing you since inheriting the title, Count Banheart.”
With those words, Count Bellun entered the drawing room.
Clay, a woman who looked like his maid, and Nior were already seated inside.
As he scanned them, Count Bellun couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
“Gasp……!”
Nior’s condition was far worse than expected.
His face was swollen, and not a single intact tooth was visible through his split lips.
“C-Count Banheart! What is the meaning of this?! What have you done to Nior?!”
Of course, he’d assumed some scuffle given the circumstances.
But he hadn’t imagined it would be this bad.
“Did you think you could get away with turning the Bellun heir into this?!”
Clay looked utterly baffled at Count Bellun’s outburst.
“Are you aware that Sir Nior was after my life? I think I’ve already shown great mercy by letting him keep it.”
“W-What? Clay Banheart! I heard you’d grown arrogant, but I never imagined it to this extent!”
Arrogant? Who was the arrogant one here?
Clay slowly shook his head.
“So, Count Bellun, you’re unhappy with the current situation?”
“There’s no question of happy or not! With your insolent attitude, I can’t just let it slide.”
“And what do you plan to do about it?”
Count Bellun was stunned by Clay’s smirking response.
He’d never expected Clay to act like this.
“I declare territorial war on House Banheart!”
“Oh, really?”
Clay replied nonchalantly, then turned to the maid beside him.
“What do you think about that, Your Highness?”
Your Highness?
At the abrupt words, Count Bellun clamped shut his excitedly shouting mouth.
‘No way…….’
Very slowly, the maid who had been bowing her head lifted it.
Platinum hair and golden eyes.
A breathtakingly beautiful face.
Count Bellun, who often attended the empire’s New Year’s Festival, could never mistake it.
“G-Gasp! Princess Riya Asktalin?! W-Why is Your Highness here…….”
Count Bellun hurriedly dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
Even the king of Talua Kingdom couldn’t treat the empire’s princess lightly.
‘Why is the princess next to Count Banheart?’
Count Bellun flinched and cautiously raised his gaze.
He met cold eyes looking down at him with a smile.
“How amusing.”
Riya’s slowly opened tone was chilling.
“To think the one at fault would come out so shamelessly…….”
“I-It’s a misunderstanding! Count Banheart turned my son into that…….”
“I’m the one who did that to him.”
“……Pardon?”
“He dared call me a vengeful wench and tried to lay hands on me.”
What was this now?
Count Bellun felt the sky spinning in real time.
“So I slapped him a few times in reflexive shock. I never imagined Sir Nior, a knight, would be so fragile.”
Fragile? His son was a bit dim, but still a Sword Expert knight.
It was hard to believe a few slaps could do that to such a knight.
“N-Nior! Is what she says true?”
“…….”
Nior just averted his eyes.
That action confirmed it was true.
‘It’s not about the mithril mine!’
Count Bellun realized they were in a situation where the entire territory could vanish.
Trying to lay hands on the empire’s princess while calling her a vengeful wench?
Even if the empire marched in and razed the land, Talua Kingdom wouldn’t utter a word.
“Count Bellun.”
Then, Clay spoke quietly.
But Count Bellun had no mind to respond to Clay. He was tense, waiting for what the princess might say next.
Seeing Count Bellun ignore Clay, Riya’s lips twisted.
“……Are you ignoring Clay right now?”
“Pardon?”
“Clay just spoke to you. Why ignore him?”
“N-No, it’s not ignoring. I-I’m getting old, so my hearing’s not what it used to be.”
Count Bellun frantically shook his head in shock.
‘Did she call him Clay?’
Were the rumors true?
Rumors of some connection between Count Banheart and the empire’s princess. Bits of Founding Festival gossip that had trickled into Talua Kingdom.
Count Bellun had dismissed them as nonsense, but seeing them now, they clearly weren’t ordinary.
To the pale, rigid man, Clay smiled kindly.
“You don’t need to be so tense, Count Bellun.”
“R-Right.”
“First, about the territorial war you mentioned…….”
“N-No, forget it! That war talk was just me losing my mind for a moment!”
“Really?”
Count Bellun nodded vigorously.
Touching Clay, whatever his tie to the princess, would only bring ruin to House Bellun.
“Then, about Nior Bellun. You seem to think he did nothing wrong in attacking me.”
It was mountain after mountain. Count Bellun gritted his teeth and bowed deeply.
“No, my son committed a grave error. Whatever you want, I’ll grant it!”
“Oh, Your sense of responsibility is truly admirable, Count Bellun.”
Clay wiped at his eyes as if deeply moved.
Count Bellun seethed at the infuriating act.
“Still, I need proper compensation for what I suffered. That way, it’s cleanly settled, right?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Then give me this.”
Clay pulled a map from his bosom and spread it on the table.
He pointed to a spot marked in bright red.
It was a single mine.